The emotion, the empathy;
Dead, do they know?
Ther's no hiding,
Shut your eyes and they are still
lingering, lurking, haunting.

Terrors of the dark
she clutches her pillow
each night, alone.
Elders laugh it off as
a figment of the imagination.

Visions, terriying visions.
Facts of tragic pasts
forced into her tiny soul.
Her breath now holds
the secrets she must keep.

Nov. 2005